Wear This Smartphone Controller On Your Finger

Let's be honest with ourselves here: the majority of mobile games are absolutely awful. We can't completely blame the game designers though. They have big ideas and a touch screen can only do so much. That's why you see many companies now selling Bluetooth game pads that mimic game console controllers for those games that don't work that well with a touch screen. It's a solution, but not a particularly mobile one. One company took to Kickstarter with an idea that just might be crazy enough to work.

Meet Ringbow, the game controller that you wear on your finger. It seeks to solve the problem of control in mobile gaming. So how does a ring improve the controls of mobile gaming? The creators envision a player wearing the ring on their index finger while using their thumb to control the d-pad built into the device. It's an interesting idea, but I'm sure it's one of those devices that you have to use to understand. To help with that, the company created a video that explains the potential that Ringbow has for mobile gaming.

The Ringbow is being developed for Android at the moment, but will soon have support for iOS. It will hold a charge for about five hours before needing a recharge through mini-USB. It should be enough for even the most intense gaming session on mobile as I can't see a match of Angry Birds lasting more than five hours.

While the device should be compatible with the majority of apps on the smartphones, there are developers creating games just for the Ringbow. For those who pledge $45 or more to Kickstarter campaign, they will get a package of games developed just for Ringbow. Pledging $55 or more gets you access to the Ringbow API so that you can make your own games for the device.

If you would like to contribute to the Kickstarter, you can do so at their campaign page. There's some really neat prizes available for the higher pledges. If you find Ringbow to be the future of mobile gaming, maybe it's worth the $1,000 plus pledge.